Yates Bound: McMaster earns victory over Western in OUA semifinal

McMaster now advances to the 105^th Yates Cup OUA championship next week against the No. 5 Guelph Gryphons who knocked off the No. 6 Queen`s Gaels, 42-39 in overtime during the other OUA semifinal.

The victory also puts McMaster in elite company having equaled the CIS record of 19 consecutive wins set by the Laval Rouge et Or. Laval accomplished the feat in the 2004-2005 season while McMaster hasn`t lost since last September.

Dicroce, who was the OUA MVP last season, was named the ‘Big Mac McDonald’s’ player of the game catching two key touchdowns and tallying five receptions for 139 yards. He was playing in his first game of the year after suffering an ankle injury in training camp.

Kyle Quinlan of South Woodslee, Ont. finished 22 of 43 for 324 yards and three touchdown strikes including a 103-yard momentum changing touchdown to Dicroce which handed the Marauders a 23-18 lead in the third quarter – a lead they would not relinquish.

Western’s Will Finch of Burlington, Ont. finished the game 24 of 37 tossing two touchdowns but also throwing four interceptions which cost the Mustangs several critical scoring opportunities.

London’s Matt Uren and Brian Marshall had the two receiving touchdowns for the Mustangs while Garret Sanvido of Vancouver punched in the other on the ground.

For McMaster, Tanner Forsyth of Mt. Albert, Ont. ran in two touchdowns on 17 carries for 97 yards while Spencer Moore of Hamilton caught the other touchdown from Quinlan.

McMaster’s Joey Cupido of Hamilton, Ont. picked off Finch twice and made two tackles to crush the Mustangs hopes of an upset.

The crushing blow for the Marauders was the 103-yard touchdown pass by Quinlan to Decroce. Down 18-17 in the third quarter and pinned in their own end zone, Quinlan connected with Dicroce on a bomb to midfield. Dicroce would beat three more defenders for the rest of the 103-yard touchdown and a slim 23-18 lead.

McMaster would then pile on 19 more points to take a 42-21 lead before Western added a meaningless touchdown with just 16 seconds to play and a 42-28 final.

Western held a 17-7 lead in the second quarter after scoring twice within two minutes on a Sanvido one-yard run and a 37-yard Finch touchdown to Marshall.

McMaster would equal the score by halftime with Forsyth scoring his first TD with 4:34 remaining and then Tyler Crapigna of Nepean, Ont., hitting a 19-yard field goal as time expired in the half to bring the score to 17-17.

Crapigna would actually miss the game-tying kick at the half in his first attempt from the 40-yard line, but Western’s Malcolm Brown of London, Ont., carried the ball out of the endzone and then proceeded to fumble with the Marauders Jeremy Kyei of Hamilton recovering the ball. On the play, there was a Western penalty and the half cannot end on a penalty giving the Marauders a second chance at the kick.

Western Sports InformatIon:

For the first time in six years the Western Mustangs will not be playing in the Yates Cup Final. The Mustangs controlled the early stages of the game against the undefeated McMaster Marauders, however the nation’s number one ranked team capitalized on turnovers in the second half to come away with a 42-28 victory.

McMaster’s Kyle Quinlan showed why he’s a likely Hec Crighton nominee throwing for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Marauders victory. Mustangs rookie quarterback Will Finch again threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw four interceptions in the loss.

Along with some strong play from Finch another rookie, Western receiver Josh Woodman, impressed in his CIS debut, making some spectacular catches and hauling in five passes for 93 yards.

Turnovers and penalties had a large impact on Saturday’s game Western turned the ball over seven times and were penalized 14 times for 129 yards compared to McMaster’s two turnovers and seven penalties for 55 yards.

After McMaster opened the scoring in the first quarter on a five-yard run from Tanner Forsyth, the Mustangs would take control of the game early in the second thanks to a pair of back-to-back touchdowns.

Finch led the Mustangs on an 11-play, 84 yard drive that included two third down conversions that set up Garret Sanvido for a one-yard touchdown run to put the Mustangs ahead 10-7.

On the ensuing drive the Mustangs pounced on a fumble in the McMaster backfield, recovering the ball on the Marauder 35-yard line. Finch then dropped a long pass perfectly over the shoulder of Brian Marshall on the next play to put the Mustangs up 17-7 and silenced a packed crowd at Ron Joyce Stadium.

The Marauders would rebound a few minutes later, as Forsyth recorded his second rushing TD of the day, this time a six-yard effort, to pull McMaster within three.

Tyler Crapigna would tie the game at 17 on the final play of the half, hitting a 19-yard kick, getting a second chance after a penalty canceled out his miss from 40-yards on the previous play.

After being limited by the Mustangs defence in the first two quarters, Quinlan would begin to take control of the second half starting with a 103-yard touchdown pass to the 2011 OUA MVP Michael DiCroce. Saturday was DiCroce’s first game of 2012 after being sidelined with an ankle injury in training camp.

The two teams would trade field goals to start the fourth quarter before McMaster turned the corner and began to pull away. Quinlan fired two touchdown passes less than two minutes apart to put the Marauders up 42-21 with just over four minutes left to play.

Western continued to fight, making one final scoring drive in the final minute that was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Finch to Matt Uren. Unfortunately for the Mustangs those would be the final points of the game, and McMaster emerged with a 42-28 victory.

The Marauders now move on to the Yates Cup Final next Saturday, hosting the Guelph Gryphons who came back to defeat the Queen’s Gaels in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

Photo credits:  Corey Stanford